Historically, television technology developed so as to mirror radio technology. Television was broadcast via electromagnetic waves in analog mode. Television pictures were broadcast using amplitude modulation (AM band), and sound was broadcast using frequency modulation (FM band). As with radio, a television viewer had control over three elements:
1. on-off control,
2. channel control, and
3. volume control.
During the early 1970's, infrared remote controls were introduced to control these same elements on television sets. Until that time, television broadcasting was limited by relatively low bandwidth. The number of channels and controls were limited by bandwidth. Establishment of new television stations were limited by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The problem was somewhat alleviated by introduction of ultra-high frequency (UHF) broadcast capability. However, UHF channels never achieved much popularity. Cable television service provided television transmission with increased bandwidth. Suddenly, television viewers were able to access a large multitude of channels. Some television stations broadcasted their programming exclusively for cable, while others simulcast their programs both over the airwaves (electromagnetic) and over cable. Other than the increased number of channels, the main discernible difference between “cable TV” and “broadcast TV” was that viewers had to pay for cable service while broadcast TV remained essentially free. Cable providers provided their users with a “cable box” to enable tuning control. Cable-ready television sets were developed to enable users to plug the cable directly into their sets.
Without a list of what programs were playing on what channels at a given time, viewers would have to “channel surf” until they found programs that they wanted to watch. Cable service providers began to transmit a program “guide” that was accessed from the remote control. Previously, viewers used newspaper listings and magazine type guides to help with their programming selection. Now, a viewer could use the remote control to select and switch to a channel based upon a desired program. So, the number of control elements were increased.
Next, the cable service providers introduced “Pay Per View” programming. Here, not only could a viewer select a special program for viewing at a specific time, but they could also approve (e.g., by pressing the OK button) or not approve (e.g., by pressing the EXIT button) the charges associated with viewing the selected program. With the introduction of digital (as opposed to analog) transmission to cable broadcasting, parents could block channels or specific programs that they did not want their children to watch. On-Demand programming provided viewers with new options that would enable them to watch special programs whenever they wanted. Finally, DVR afforded viewers with the ability to record programs, to time-shift viewing, to pause live TV, and to rewind and move forward through recorded programs and live TV.
All of these new features required the introduction of television remote control units having many more controls than the traditional on-off, volume, and channel controls. Not only are remote controls themselves more sophisticated, but many new television sets may only be controlled using remote controls. These new sets no longer have external controls. Even the brightness, contrast, color, and hue settings are now controlled remotely. Viewers can use their remote controls to control television settings separately form cable settings. They can also use their remote controls to control peripheral devices such as VCR's, DVD's, CD players, etc. With the availability of high-speed internet service over cable television lines, keyboards are often connected to television sets for access to the internet. In some hotels, television viewers can pay their lodging bill by using the remote control. Into the television provider mix also came local telephone companies and satellite broadcasters. These providers advertise even greater increases in bandwidth and possibly more services. So, control over television viewing has become quite sophisticated.
Nevertheless, television viewing essentially remains as a passive activity. Viewers still only turn their sets on or off, control the volume, and select what they want to watch either now or in the future. Cable providers are able to determine what programs are being watched by their viewers. But, viewers cannot actively communicate with cable providers or broadcasters while watching television.
Interactive television is very attractive to cable service providers. Cable companies are in the process of adopting the “Enhanced TV Binary Interchange Format” (EBIF) and the “Open Cable Application Platform” (OCAP). EBIF is a multimedia content format defined by a specification developed under the “OpenCable” project of CableLabs (Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.). The primary purpose of EBIF is to present to a television viewer one or more multimedia pages, similar to web pages, but specialized for use within an enhanced television or an interactive television system. Action sequences are executed as a result of firing certain predefined events, such as a page load event, a key press event, a click event, etc. These events are triggered by the viewer using the remote control. Execution of all events are serialized and controlled by event handlers. On the other hand, OCAP, is an operating system layer designed for consumer electronics that connects to a television system. Unlike operating systems on a personal computer, the cable company controls what OCAP programs run on the consumer's set. Also designed by CableLabs for the cable networks of North America, OCAP programs are intended for interactive services such as eCommerce, online banking, Electronic program guides, and digital video recording. The OCAP standard has not yet been approved by the FCC.
A Multiple System Operator (MSO) is an operator of multiple cable television systems. A cable system in the US, by FCC definition, is a facility serving a single community or a distinct governmental entity, each with its own franchise agreement with the cable company. Though in the strictest sense any cable company that serves multiple communities is thus an MSO, the term today is usually reserved for companies that own a very large number of cable systems.
A number of systems currently exist to purchase items associated with content broadcast over television. An intuitive mechanism for accomplishing such a task would be to have a website associated with a television program. The TV viewer would have a computer alongside the television set. The TV viewer accesses the broadcast content and the website concurrently. Interaction with the broadcast content occurs over the internet on the computer. One such implementation is employed by http://www.shopnbc.com. This corresponds to an NBC network cable channel, shopNBC. This channel is a home shopping channel where viewers can purchase products that they see on television. However, instead of calling a telephone number to make their purchases, viewers purchase the products over the World Wide Web. A web application exists on the website that allows viewers to watch the programming streaming on their computers, thereby eliminating the necessity of having a separate television set alongside the computer. This application exists for the shopNBC channel only, and viewers cannot switch to watching other channels.
US Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0031285 to Ruhnke, et. al. teaches an audio and video On Demand type application along with the business functions required therefore. On Demand programming is not truly interactive. While a TV viewer may use a remote control to access the content, that does not happen interactively with broadcast content. On the other hand, US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/10018898 to Genen, teaches a method of interactively accessing music and other media associated with broadcast content using a remote control. However, there is no back end application associated with this application to provide for fulfillment. The website http://ensequence.com provides synchronized interactivity using a remote control. This application permits a TV viewer to purchase products, vote, receive targeted offers, access sports specifications. It also permits children and teenagers to participate in the activities programmed into the broadcast content. However, this application also lacks a back end to provide for fulfillment.